Remember!

One of the hardest things in life is going to the funeral of a person who has loved us and whom we have loved. Even when a person’s death is expected it is never easy and we can come with all sorts of mixed emotions. We feel the loss and the numbness inside which we cannot quite put into words but we are also embraced by the words of those who mourn with us. The support of a community is vitally important not just because we hold a person up in prayer but also people need to witness to the prayer that has legs, in the people who gather with us. This silent and powerful presence allows us to know that we are not alone in our grief.

The funeral service allows us to pay respect to the living and to the person who has died. It helps us to be reassured that through a Christian community that our life has a value to others. It allows us to farewell a person with dignity and to assist them on their final journey with our prayers. I think the hardest thing about the funeral are all the questions which we are left to ponder afterward when our conversation is filled with the silence of that loss which no one else can replace. We look for tangible reassurance that they are remembered. This is why during the month of November we remember all those who have died and as they have been close to our hearts, that they may be close to the heart of God.